NEW DELHI: Two women researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad have developed a hand sanitizer for the institute’s own community.

The researchers claim that the hand sanitizer has been prepared in line with standards recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). It has 70 percent alcohol which can “penetrate a microorganism’s cell wall, coagulating all the proteins” and result in the organism’s death, says a statement released by IIT Hyderabad. The researchers said that their creation is only aimed at extending help during the ongoing health crisis due to the coronavirus outbreak and they do not intend to commercialise the product.

The institute has already distributed 10 liters of this hand sanitizer through the campus for use by students and staff.

This hand sanitizer has been developed by Shivakalyani Adepu, a research scholar, along with Mudrika Khandelwal, an associate professor, in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, IIT Hyderabad.

Supporting the community

Adepu, who completed her PhD last month, said, “This was done purely to support the community at this time when it is critical to adopt safe and hygienic practices. We have not thought of commercialization. Our motto is to help people around us. We can assure that these are as safe as any commercial sanitizer, and possibly more effective. Our laboratory conducts a lot of microbiological studies and we have tested these kinds of materials before and have been using the same for several years now. Its efficacy is well known and has been reported.”

Khandelwal added: “My research group has always believed in doing scientific research and outreach for the benefit of society. This is our small contribution at the time of need. I am glad we would make this happen and hope to make similar contributions in the future.”

Currently, India has seen a total of 147 cases with 3 casualties. Presently, there are 130 “active” cases across the country.

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